Steps to consider to start and grow a company. Basics are provided to help entrepreneurs. Examples may relate to Biotech, Pharma and Medical Device businesses, but the ideas apply to most technology fields.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Relationships can make a difference in your startup

Great relationships can be a great neutralizer in getting deals done!

A few years ago, a corporate real-estate executive learned that a
Fortune 50 company planned to create a new facility.The billionaire executive had many friends
one of which relayed the message about the need for a new location.Repeated attempts to arrange a meeting with
the Fortune 50 Company failed, so the executive flew up and requested to meet
in person. Discussions eventually led to the topic of the Fortune 50
needs.At this point, the upset CEO of
the Fortune 50 Company indicated there were only a few people in the world that
knew about the search for a new site. The CEO asked who informed the
real-estate executive about the search and then escorted the billionaire out of
the office.Obviously, no deal came from
the discussion.

Two things are apparent from this story; 1) the real-estate
executive had a great relationship with someone affiliated with the Fortune 50
Company and received confidential information, and 2) the executive did not
have a relationship with the Fortune 50 executive.The approach was risky but may have yielded a
positive result had confidential information not been passed along.Anger about the breach of confidence cut
discussions short resulting in insufficient time to develop a relationship that
might result in a deal.

In a different example, an administrator joined a smaller
university to help build the institution to greater prominence.The administrator had made many friends over
the years and was known as someone that was worthy of trust.In the first year, the administrator engaged
with a different Fortune 50 Company about establishing a significant research
program. The Fortune 50 Company was already
investigating such an arrangement with top Universities.The corporate executive responsible for
developing the program knew the administrator on a personal basis. Great trust
existed between the two.The trust was
so great that the corporate executive went to the CEO and pressed that the
research programs occur with the smaller institution. When asked why, the
executive simply stated because “I trust the administrator to deliver as promised.”

In the second example, there was no reason for the two
institutions to get together except for the high level of confidence created
over years between the two individuals.A program was created that complemented what each side wanted.The two enjoyed working together and had done
so in the past.When the University
President asked the Administrator how such a great deal was created with the
institution, the Administrator simply answered, “the Company Executive trusts
me to do what we agreed to do!”

The
moral of these true stories is that you may be able to beat the Big Companies
at their game by developing lasting great relationships.